Out today—a new interactive I worked on with @compatibilism.bsky.social mapping lead pipes in Chicago. You can use this tool to check any water service line in the city for lead, and explore how lead exposure overlaps with race and class. Check out the full piece: grist.org/accountabili...
Clayton Page Aldern
@compatibilism.bsky.social
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Data reporter @grist.org. Thinking about climate change, brain health, active inference
THE WEIGHT OF NATURE is out now: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717097/the-weight-of-nature-by-clayton-page-aldern
Signal: aldern.01
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Chicago has most the lead pipes in the country.
A team of excellent reporters and I mapped them all on a searchable tool.
Huge s/o to @juanpab.bsky.social @keertigopal.bsky.social @peteraldhous.com and @compatibilism.bsky.social for this monumental effort. Relevant links threaded below!
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Chicago has the most lead service lines of any city in the county. We mapped out which neighborhoods are hit hardest. Mega collab out today from me, @peteraldhous.com @juanpab.bsky.social @compatibilism.bsky.social + @amyqin.bsky.social
insideclimatenews.org/news/2808202...
Chicago Has a Huge Lead Pipe Problem—and We Mapped It - Inside Climate News
Lead water service lines are all over the city. But majority Black and Latino neighborhoods bear the biggest burden, our analysis finds.
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Big thanks to the whole reporting and production team here, including @juanpab.bsky.social, @keertigopal.bsky.social, @amyqin.bsky.social, @peteraldhous.com, @parkie-doo.sh, and countless others at @grist.org, @wbez.org, and @insideclimatenews.org.
Read it all here: grist.org/accountabili... 10/10
Chicago’s lead pipe crisis, mapped
Here's what the data reveals about who's most at risk.
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If you'd like to read more about our methods, we've got a behind-the-scenes look into our reporting process: grist.org/accountabili...
You can also inspect our analysis code: github.com/InsideClimat...
And the code underlying our map: github.com/Grist-Data-D... 9/n
How we mapped Chicago’s lead pipe problem and what we learned
Here’s what we found, how to know if you’re at risk, and how to replicate our work.
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If you live in Chicago, you can use our interactive map to check your service line and request free water testing. Even if your address isn't in the database, you can see nearby lines that might serve your building. That map is embedded in our investigation here: grist.org/accountabili... 8/n
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And while Chicago is supposed to notify 900,000 at-risk households about their lead pipes, as of July, they'd only sent out 62,000 letters. More than 90% of residents with dangerous pipes still don't know they're at risk. That's one reason we built our lookup tool. 7/n
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In the meantime, nearly 70% of Chicago kids under 6 live in homes with detectable lead in their tap water. As readers probably know, there's no safe level of lead exposure: It causes developmental delays, learning difficulties, and permanent health problems. 6/n
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The city plans to finish replacing lead pipes by 2076, conducting replacements at a rate of 8,300 per year for 50 years. That's 30 years past the EPA's deadline. At this pace, kids born today will be middle-aged before Chicago's water is safe. 5/n
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Yet even wealthy white neighborhoods aren't completely safe. In Forest Glen, one of Chicago's richest areas, 91% of service lines need replacement. The difference is resources: Some can afford $26,000 private replacements while others rely on bottled water and hope for subsidized programs. 4/n
